Blew Right Past the 30s

I wish I could say I was oh so cautious, but I was not. Remember: what works for one eager beaver will not necessarily work for another. i.e. don't do as I do, be cautious about what you try so the pain doesn't come back to bite you in the knee. Remember all the cautions at savingmyknees.blogspot .com! Richard we are in your debt for sharing your priceless knowledge.

I go out on Saturday to do my thirty minutes that I had achieved two days earlier, but went too far. I had marked two places, a thirty minute turn-around, and a one hour turn-around location a couple of years ago for when my wife and I were going to use the tandem bicycle in order to build time in the saddle. I realize now that it was a huge mistake, because these times were based on what I could do when I was well-trained and in a much bigger gear.

As you can see I'm not a sparrow, I'm a clydesdale (an actual designation at some cycling events). I have had a problem with my weight since my freshman year college 15 that was more like the frosh 30. One nice development is that as you know I spent three months not doing anything and now less than two weeks later my large size shirts are already fitting better. No they are not flapping in the breeze, but I am more comfortable. 

I was concerned with my classes starting up next week, I was going to need to wear something! I'm not going to be in the best shape I've been in, but not the worst shape I've been in either.

Rationalization: 30 minute is the amount of time cyclists normally bump up their mileage by in order to not get overtrained, but yet build time in the saddle.

Because I have been waiting the 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, and 48 hours after my exercise bout, it has been every other day that I exercise. I still have not become accustomed to the workload physically so I will continue at and around this workload for another week. It will be very tempting to go further, but I know I have to be conservative and cautious in order to not have a setback. I have adjusted my riders box to compensate for my knees.

OCN: 1:04 still at lowest gear and high spin at 90 rpm. Benefit of my Litespeed (Classic) Goat is that I have three lower gears than the one I have on the trainer (I made it into a tripple a few years ago when I bottomed out on my gears going up an 18% incline.
Lbs: 281.4 not happy with an increase, but hoping it's muscle weight. Muscle weight helps me burn more.
Nutrition: Still on the negative I can really tell on the glycogen consumption in the one hour.

4_8_24_48 Take Two

My bump up to thirty minutes on the trainer in the lowest gear with zero resistance almost did not happen due to some achiness. But, as my strength would have it I felt sleepy, so I slept for a couple of hours and then boom I was fine! Remember what Richard said about getting 8 hours rest!? Most definitely makes a difference! I had gotten 6.5 to 7 hours and with the two hour morning nap it primed the pumps or the cannons!

What; you've never heard of a morning nap?! Here's what you do, wake up and do whatever you have to do at the butt-crack of dawn: take the dogs out, feed the cats, eat breakfast, read the Bible, read the news, take your 💓 pills, etc. Then, go back to bed work on your languages, read facebook or this blog and you'll be back asleep in no time partly because you took your pill or you're crashing because of your cereal.

So, after my nap, I went down and did my thirty (two) minutes as easy as I could. I did some on the bike stretches and such and I still need to do some adjustments on the rider-box and then go from there. But no pain at 1,2,4,8,24, and again we'll see about 48. After my ride I proceeded to take the dogs out, do some chores and quickly got overheated and overextended enough to feel woozy and almost blow chunks! So, a trained cyclist or an in shape athlete can bump-up the mileage at 30 minutes a pop, but a couch potato for the last three months cannot or can, but then be ready to blow chunks. Since my body didn't like that much I will continue with 30 minutes for at least two weeks. Still having issues with these numbers. My pride has always been endurance and the long-ride. I look forward to those days. Thank you Richard for all your insight in savingmyknees.blogspot.
.com

OCN: 30(2) mins. lowest gear/no resistance
Trng. Video: South Africa
Lbs: 280.3

Four Eight Twenty-four Forty-eight

Yesterday I rode my trainer for fifteen, actually sixteen minutes. I can honestly say that I feel as accomplished as when I completed my first one hundred miler. The familiar warm ache was a welcome feeling. The knees had the feeling of having done some work, but no pain. I was very cautious in all my walking. I did some experimenting I'll revisit in a minute.

I went through four, eight, twenty-four and now am waiting for forty-eight. I have mostly kept my legs parallel to the floor. Like I said, my muscles had the warm ache of having done some work. I look forward to doing some more work.

The experimentation I did has to do with me remembering that I got new cycling cleats as well as new dress shoes. I was wondering if the new shoes were affecting the foot-fall and therefore affecting my knees. I have learned that everything in our bodies is connected. One example is that when I was overcompensating with my knees, my back has been affected.

I hope I continue improvement and get to work-out again tomorrow!

OCN: 15(+1) mins.
No Video
Lbs: 280.3

Avoiding the Primes

So today, I was supposed to start a very slow and arduous process, but since I felt pretty good and excited about the future, I said, "what the hell, I'll go for it!" "Future's so bright I gotta wear shades!" Huey Lewis.

I was going to start nice and slow with 3,5,7,9,11,13, and 15 minutes. But 15 minutes being the increment cyclists use to build time in the saddle, I felt a strong pull. Old habits die hard!

I have spent a month going really slow and doing absolutely nothing so I dared to step it up. Mind you, my wife and I already have two failed attempts at restarting our walking regime both times over-doing it and paying the price.

Yup, I did it! I rode my time trial bike on the trainer downstairs. My Caloi Strada Pro is set up on the Cyclops Trainer downstairs. It will be perfect for this because the front derailleur is busted and it works on tension and there is no way I can get it on to the 52 tooth big ring! I set the Cyclops Trainer at no resistance and left it on the easiest freaking gear! (BTW Richard, if you're reading this I even tried freewheeling {spinning backwards for a little} yup truly easy). I am not very good with pacing; when trying 80 rpm I kept ending up at 60 rpm so I bumped it to 90. When reading savingmyknees
.blogspot.com that the lowest gear would be too easy, I was not convinced. Well, after three months of doing diddley-squat, using the easiest gear feels like something. Very appropriate for the lack of movement I had been relegated to. Also, since I'm writing this over two hours after my forray into this 15 minute craziness, I'm good. No gain! No pain! Or should I say, "Slow gain! No pain!" Let's hope that tomorrow or in two days it's still the same.

Rationale: For over a month now, I have taken 90 steps stopped rested, stretched my back or worked a little on biceps and triceps 3Xs a day and sometimes more. Then, took my 90 steps back stopping at 60, 70, and 80. Now you may think that's kind of weird! Not if you're out walking your headstrong chihuahua, 🥜 Peanut! I speak to her in Portuguese, Spanish, and English, but it doesn't matter she still does whatever the hell she wants.

Stats or the OCN: back in the day of listservs, running.rec there was a group called the Dead Runners Society. The listgods said you could write about anything related to running as long as you posted an ORN: an obligatory running note. Since this is a cycling blog I will post an OCN: 15 minutes plus 1 minute because I can (Scott Cutshall who lost 320 pounds riding a bike would do one extra time around the block and eventually an extra mile just to prove to himself that he could). Poundage is at 280.3 At my heaviest I went up to 289 pounds a mere two years ago. My wife and I had success making little changes for big improvements. And walking, notice not cycling! I had averaged 4,000 miles per year for many years, but it was not ideal to lose weight.
On nutrition I'm in the negative, I am eating less than what I have expended.

Catastrophic Injuries Seem to Be the Rule

So in 2015 I was playing soccer with the kiddos and felt a sensation (not a good one) in my left knee, my non-kicking leg. I'm not calling it pain because it wasn't pain, but that day however small things changed with my knee. My doc looked at it, osteoarthritis he said, you know you're getting older you can't do the things you used to do. My catastrophic fall where both my elbows cracked happened after that during the summer. Why was I cycling still if I had injured my knee?! Well, honestly with that I am fortunate! The knee lesion did not affect the cycling. In the meantime, I had even done close to a one hundred miler without ill-effects. (92 miles, nevermind the fact that I was lost. But I've been found, gloreh halluyer). Everytime I attempted to run (falcon run 2016), play soccer (Feb. 2017, play basquetball (Oct. 2016), or any other high-impact activity even though I had my braces on to control the movement I paid the price. I continued to cycle although only on flats and only spinning and even doing super-spinning (120 rpm). I could not get the nagging injury to go away and leave me the heck alone.

Fast forward to May of 2017, our new (to us) SUV had a leak that finally had to be taken care of and caused it to die. Deader than a doornail! My wife and I discussed how we were too old for this and we should call a tow truck. Alas, with hindsight I now know better, but I couldn't see spending a bunch of money for something I could do myself. My buddy Joe and I towed it to the dealership a couple of miles away. Once there and off the chains, we still had to put it in a parking spot because the bay was chained up. Fact: Parking lots have slight inclines to alleviate runoff. Fact: An SUV weighs much more than a sedan or pick-up truck. I attempted to push that SUV into the spot all by myself at first. My strong gams from cycling helped, but my weak knee was not happy. This time both knees were affected or strained! I tried taking it easy all the while still going to work. I tried carrying a staff to support myself. The pain was intense. I tried to stay off of them. I tried taking the ramp down and I had to stop mid ramp. Stairs were better, because with the staff and the banister I was able to help myself. But with the staff my employer forced me to get a prescribed staff (one month with the staff). That month was over at the beginning of July. I decided to give it an extra month just to be safe before I started back to exercise. That month was over at the beginning of August. My wife and I had tried to restart our walking regime, but the first time it was still painful and the second time we over-did it. Meanwhile in South Texas temperatures have been way too high. Ambient temp was at 120° F. This is not the desert! These are the coastal plains. So here it is Aug and I didn't have plan!

How do I fix my knee?! I landed on a site that pushed quad strengthening that even brought up the fact that quad strengthening agravates your knees, but did not answer the quandry. Next I tried to learn what I could about the knee from WebMD etc. I presented with pain in the Medial Meniscus and the Medial Cruciate Ligament in the right knee. In my left knee the one that clicks there was pain at the back at the joint capsule. Standard disclaimer here: I am not a medical doctor or physical therapist and I don't play one on the internet. Pa dum tss! Thangiaverymuch, tip your waitress! Doctor prescribed a series of anti-inflamatories that started its work immediately plus the staff. I was good to go! I had four or five days till I closed out the year with my middle schoolers and then I could just rest until it was time to move to another house this summer. Still no plan, my wife and I tried a second time to start our exercise regime, but we over-did it. I was going ahead blindly anyway.

The third site I came across was savingmyknees at blogger and a book by the same title Saving My Knees by Richard Bedard ( http://www.amazon.com  ). Richard chronicles how he saved his knees by healing the soft-tissue damage done to his knees by going too far. Richard was inspired by Doug Kelsey of Sports Center in none other than Austintacious a world away for him, but a mere 45 minutes for me. Richard, thanks be to God, has an analytical mind and a penchant for detail. Richard poured over studies and experimented by trial and error and an experiment of one, wrote a book about it, and still blogs about it to this day! His skill at writing and explaining and supporting those of us wandering around mostly clueless and speaking to doctors that were mostly clueless has proved his point: one can, with careful tracking, careful experimentation regrow soft tissue not with a pill (i.e. glucosamine with chondroitin) although for some it may work (placebo effect), but with successive small movements with non-impact activities like walking, cycling, etc. to push the envelope of motion to allow a joint to recover, grow, and become stronger than before for all intents and purposes. He has the medical studies to support his assertions. He is a man ahead of his time. Now, if medical personnel would just read up and find out the good word!

Dealing with Inactivity

So, this Spring Break, I'm working out how to be inactive! I came to the realization that's it's been thirty plus years that I have been working out: running, climbing, cycling, swimming, and lately walking.

Unbelievably, now that I'm older the walking is ever more productive than all the cycling I do so regularly. Recently, with two catastrophic injuries in two years the mileage on the bike is less than half of what it has been in the past. The breaking of my two elbows this past Summer, caused me to question whether cycling is for ever or just another one of many activities I have done throughout the years.

My wife and I have adopted the slower method of losing poundage with small changes that make a big difference on weight-loss. Both of us have lost about thirty-five pounds and have kept it off.

At school I use the fasting method. A bunch of people at school are getting good results with it. I don't like to eat at school anyway so it works for me.

I can feel the consequences of not staying active in my hips and in my knees. My back has never been real happy so that is still there also. My elbows, the one that did not give as much trouble is the one that troubles me more now and it even clicks! Boo! Well, got to go!

Letting Go!

No! Not like the silly song! But like letting go; and letting God! Gaylezinha made a good point I don't have to work on motivation, I'm on the bike every chance I get! I do what I can! No the yard looks like hell and the carpet isn't vacd, but hey my lesson plans c'est fini. I do what I can at work, yeah gradespeed isn't set up yet and I've got no grades for my kiddos, but my room is close to being ready
for Tuesday! I'm not invincible - soccer absolutely drained me. My kids are the best! Can't wait till tomorrow! Sleep!

Every Hill You Take Every Breath You Take I'll Be Watchin' You!

If I forgot to tell you about the sciatic nerve issue I got from being stuffed like a sardine in an airplane for almost eight hours. The crew were absolute champs! But all the technology every seat has is placed under the seat in dront of you! Beautiful so my big ass feet have no place to go! Well, that pain persisted for a week. I almost wanted to go commando to enjoy the freedom, but no dice!

Today was my first forray in to the hills and it was a success! I spun and spun until I summited every one of my hills. I think I called on granny only once!

I PRd on Geneseo hill and that felt good! Somehow I knew that one was going really well! Since I did that I went on the other side of Broadway and did Torcido too!

It was 77 when I started today again that was good and maybe it's a sign that the intense heat of August is almost over! Nah!

After coming back from Europe I checked on my Summer mileage and it was only 275 ugh! That's nothing! No 2k on the bike this Summer. The heat was such a big part of that this Summer. Even in Europe, the heat has all swelling up like stuffed piggies! The possibility that I will have to train straight through this Fall is real!

Heat and.More Heat

Not to be underestimated! The heat can kill ya! My wife always says, "up north people have to know how to survive in a blizzard, down here you have to know how to survive the heat." So Wednesday when I woke up with a headache I knew I had done something Tuesday. So no ride. Thursday I awoke with a stopped up ear so the headache yesterday could have been a sinus issue. Stay safe out there my friends!

He Concurrs!

Saturday: Hooked up with Woody out by Playland and talked him in to going to Woodlawn Lake on his way home. Good convo about training solo makes you stronger. You wanna ride with your friends put in the miles drop the weight but put.in the miles. Felt good to meet up with someone. Family first he agrees! Good I'm not the only one! Ha! He was already at 75 at that point daium! Anyway I got my hour and a half and headed home!

Starting an Exercise Program: Recommendations from Dr. Mirkin www.drmirkin.com

If you want to lose weight or just maintain your healthful weight as you age, start an exercise program or increase your current program. Recent data show that interval training takes far less time than continuous exercise, and can be even more effective in strengthening your heart. You can do interval training by cycling, walking, jogging, skating, swimming, using an elliptical machine or any other form of continuous exercise.

1) Pre-Conditioning: Every day, go out and exercise slowly and continuously until your legs or arms feel heavy or hurt and then stop. Do this every day until you can work up to 30 minutes of continuous exercise. This usually takes three to six weeks.
2) Intervals: Every day, start your workout by going slowly for five to ten minutes. Then pick up the pace for ten seconds and then slow down. When your legs feel that they have recovered, pick up the pace again for ten seconds. Alternate these pick-ups and slow down intervals until your legs start to feel heavy or hurt and then stop for the day. Do this every day and progress by extending the time of your intervals. You do not have to do intervals longer than 30 to 60 seconds. It is irrelevant how long you rest between intervals. If your legs feel heavy or hurt during your warm-up, take the day off.

Caution: Since exercise can harm people with already damaged hearts, you may want to check with your doctor first.

If you like what you see from Dr. Gabe Mirkin, please subscribe to his eZine at drmirkin.com

The following comments are not from Dr. Mirkin.

Play close attention to the last sentence from Dr. Mirkin's recommendations and the Caution. 

First a word about overtraining with regards to interval work. Interval work done day after day without proper rest and recovery can cause serious overtraining in an athlete. So like the Doc said, "If your legs feel heavy or hurt during your warm-up, take the day off." Many athletes go out and start training slowly for ten to fifteen minutes and see where they are or how they really feel. Are they going to be able to put in the training (hard enough effort to make a difference) or did they work too hard the day before? The wise-athlete lives to train another day. The un-wise athlete battles on and gets an injury that knocks them out for almost a month or longer. It is not worth it!

One cannot go into interval work with less than a full effort. One must be prepared to go all-out. Going all-out can be very dangerous so the caution Dr. Mirkin speaks of is real and getting your doctor's approval can save your life. Years ago when heart-rate monitors first came out, I used one while training. After noticing something out of the ordinary with my numbers, I went to my doctor and she diagnosed me with eschemia. I see my heart-doctor twice a year to make sure there are no complications.    

Care and Prevention of Heat Related Issues

Beware when you exercise in the heat!

• Watch the temperature. Know your limits! I, for instance do not train in temperatures higher than 90 at the start of the ride. I know to avoid that because I have had issues in that temperature range in the past. I also use time of day which we will talk about more a little later, but for me starting a ride at 11:00 am just doesn't make any sense. Why risk the higher temperatures?!
• Get acclimated. Your body requires time to adjust. If you are starting a program at the same time that you are also trying to get acclimatized that will also take longer. Plan on twenty-three days to get your body used to something. If you had already been training through April and May getting going won't be such an issue, but getting going in June will take you a little longer.
• Know your fitness level. I use this to my advantage in later stages of training because then I can go and strain with people that are at a higher level of ability and training and gain from the effort required to workout with them. When working out at a higher level your body requires more of you, your muscles require better circulation, your body needs better cooling. So employ the best strategies and use the best equipment to facilitate the higher output.
• Drink plenty of fluids. Hydrate before the event. No you can't store up nuts for the winter like a squirrel, but you can be less dehydrated. If you were exuberant in the festivities the night before an event chances are you will be less hydrated. If you're not peeing clear before the event you'll be in trouble during the event.
  
• Dress appropriately. Nowadays, with high-tech fabrics and UV rated fabrics there's no excuse for wearing cotton and end up looking like a puddle at the end or during the event. Use sports specific clothing. You're better off if you wear what the athletes in your sport wear. Lighter colored fabrics do a lot to reflect the heat. UV rated fabrics although they seem hotter at first when the sun is blazing do their job very effectively. Dousing oneself with water also works to create a cooling effect.
• Avoid midday sun. Also avoid the hottest part of the day. Midday sometimes is not the hottest. You have to be aware of when the hottest is in your area. Don't be fooled by a cloudy day, that midday sun going through a soaked cloud is magnified and will do even more damage to you and your skin and your inner-core temperature. 
• Wear sunscreen. Some of the real potent sunscreens have a bit of menthol in it and actually produce a cooling effect when you wear it in the blazing sun. The only concern I have not yet solved is they tend to stain our fancy modern fabrics.
• Have a backup plan. Make sure somebody knows where you are. With social media - leaving an app open with a route is really no big deal. They also have to know where to find you and how to get there. Also have a back-up on your back-up! I have a buddy with which I have made a deal, he can call me anytime for a rescue and I can call him anytime for a rescue :-) Sometimes, that's all you have!
• Understand your medical risks. If you're taking medication that will dehydrate you, you need to beware. Talk to your doctor, inform him or her that you are an athlete and somethings will wreck havoc on your system when you are out training. Make sure when you get a new prescription for something serious that you test out your training. Recently, I was prescribed something that caused me to dehydrate. I could not do even thirty minutes of my regular routine. My doc asked me to try it for two weeks. I did for two weeks, and two weeks only. My doc is a runner, so he knew exactly what I was going through. He shrugged it off, "No big deal, let's try something else!" Love it!
• When is it an emergency?! If you get clammy, and tingly you are playing with fire and it is time to stop to rehydrate. The fire here is heat-stress. If you are cramping, with a stomach-ache, a head-ache, blurred vision or tunnel vision, then stop immediately! This is full-blown heat-exhaustion and you will be in deep kimchee if you continue. Get out of the heat, hydrate if possible, and rest while whomever you called can come to get you hopefully bringing something to drink, clothes and recovery foods etc. If you were silly enough to continue which is in-advisable, then you are within minutes of suffering heat-stroke! Heat stroke can kill you! Heat-stroke can stop your heart. If you are in heat-stroke conditions then you need to go to emergency! I've seen someone in heat-stroke, and they were taken away on a stretcher. He survived, but was out of work for a week. He was heat stress prone from then on. Just like Northerners make preparations for blizzards, Southerners make preparations for the heat!

Trying Something Different - Estoy Tratando de Hacer Algo Diferente

Aquí Estamos De Un Modo Diferente-Español

Pos como tengo amigos en varios países, yo quería compartir mis experiencias en sus idiomas. De vez de cuando voy usar Portugues o Español para escribir mi blog.  Hoy día estoy sentiendo mal  con problemas relacionados al calor y las altas temperaturas. 

Espero que realicen que cuando tenemos problemas con el calor esto causa problemas en el futuro también. La tendencia de tener problemas con calor va continuar. Acuerda también la regla de que para acostumbrarse con algo necesitas veintitres días para realizarlo. Entonces como yo estoy empezando un programa de ejercicio si ya estuviera acostumbrado a este tiempo no sería tan mal ahora. Pero porque yo tuve tantos problemas con la gripe y problemas relacionados no podría entrenar a lo normal. 

Todo esto empieza con las temperaturas porque ya a las once de la mañana las temperaturas ya están allá de los noventa grados. Mi esposa y yo cuando salimos infortunadamente, en un coche/troca que no tiene aire condicionado. Ya hemos tenído varios días en que nosotros sufrimos con calentura. Queremos estar listos para toda la caminada que vamos tener que hacer en julio. Las distancias chicas que estamos haciendo ahorita podemos acrescentar más para tener el entrenamiento suficiente cuando es necessario. 

Yo esperaba ya tener más millas hechas para estar más preparado por las millas que quiero hacer en la bici, pero con los problemas de calor es bien difícil hacer algo. El entrenador estacionario fue una bendición pero no he tenido suficiente oportunidad sin problemas de calentura para usarlo bien.

Estoy veyendo las opciones que voy tener cuando tengo tiempo y salud apropiada para hacer el trabajo en el entrenador estacionario. Me alegra mucho que mi amigo em empresto el cyclops. 

Back On the (Stationary) Horse

So today I did my first trainer ride. 0 miles 0 mph, but an hour plus of riding! I was still able to post it to Strava. Learn something new "ever day!" Felt great to get an hour in even though it was inside! Luckily for me, spinervals made cycling videos common-place. I found a bunch of stuff on YouTube! I ended up using Cycle Scenery and was riding Virtually in the Virgin Islands. Oh so cool! I did a warm-up in town. Then a trip through traffic to get out of town then a couple of other workouts one out in the flat-country and another out in the hills of the VI :-)

So many possibilities are open now, two a days, long trainers when my family is sleepin' - an exciting turn of events. Thank you God! Stay tuned for more stationary bike rides! Although, tomorrow I really want to ride outside with my Brasil jersey! Viva Spurs - Viva Brasil

Long Time No Blog - New Routine

So here it is high-time I get going with my training! The excuse for little to show for the time is an upper respiratory thing that turned in to a chest thing - rain the last few weekends before the end of the school year didn't help although there's a new advent coming up on that front. 

Strava (strava.com) tells me I have less than a thousand miles to show for the year. With two rides per week - I can't do much more. So it is time to build. Planning on building on the MTB mountain bike rather than doing a bunch of junk flat miles on the TT rig or the Goat. If I can add any commuter type miles I'm game on the Muddy Fox, thinking of putting the baskets on so I can take it to the store also for more base miles since I'm about 700 miles shy to start serious training with intervals and such. It did kill me to dns (did not show) on rides like the wildflower - but I couldn't see showing up shelling out sans training. It was the right thing to do. 

So just now we arrived home, it is the beginning of June and it is time to be out in nature like I love to be, but I can't because of the temps (temperatures). In order to be safe from the heat in the Summer I have limited myself to no rides after eleven or after it's reached 90° degrees. So here I am blogging instead :-)

So why is the heat on my mind, no not because I want my Spurs to kick their butts tonight in Miami, but because yesterday we had a packed and stressful day with issues with Pop (father-in-law) and issues with my check-out at school. Did I expect to have heat issues? Nope! But I did! I do have to remember once you have issues with heat you will have issues again. I couldn't pin down exactly what happened, but there was a lot of sweating going-on! 

So the new advent with the rain, is that Mike from church has a trainer sitting in a closet, and he's perfectly willing to let me get some use out of it. I look forward to getting some indoor miles done when rain does not allow or I'm prudent and satying out of the heat. A ride folloeing one of those beautiful scapes on computer would be cool to do.

Look forward to writing some more this Summer!

Getting Back on the Horse

"Look: I’m not one of those people who names my bikes, or believes they have souls. I know a bicycle isn’t going to miss me. I don’t cotton to totems. What memories I cherish tend toward experience rather than possession. I know we’re not talking here about life or death or war or crime or love or family or truth or faith or any such thing fundamental to who and what we as a species are. I know all we’re talking about is bicycles."

by Bill Strickland, Editor-at-large Bicycling Magazine quote from FB post.

Actually it is apparent that I do name my bikes, Litespeed: Goat because of the tripple on it, the Black Caloi Strada Pro: Black Knight, MTB: MuddyFox but then it is named the MuddyFox Limited Edition. But I love what this quote says after about souls. I agree bikes don't have souls, but they do have personality characteristics :-) Litespeed nimble and quick, the Caloi built for the long run, and the MuddyFox indistructible. The experience is more important than the posession. Experience attained on a certain machine to a certain level perhaps not to be attained again in the near future. No it's not life and death or war or crime or love or family or truth or faith or these important priorities in our lives, but to me it is about what we can attain in order to maintain health and living

Rider!

Eliane and I met at college when we were both working towards arts degrees, we love our pets, but no children except for the ones my parents let me borrow for a year at a time as an English teacher, I grew-up in Brazil with my parents working as missionaries, and that is where I fell in love with the sense of adventure that I recapture every-time I ride a bicycle out in God's green Earth! I hope to inspire my students to appreciate nature.

Every school I've worked at, I have started a running group or a cycling group. At my church we started a Hike and Bike Group that produced many a good athlete as well. Most recently, I've been working with the soccer club coach. I've run websites and FB sites to promote these groups since I started. I've attempted newsletters and such to help instruct others since I've been riding for thirty some-odd years.

As a kid I rode an old beater that must have weighed a hundred pounds with big balloon tires with white walls while all my friends rode Monarks or Calois. When I first came to the states, I bought a no-name Italian bike (I guess it could have been a name-brand, but I simply don't remember). When I first got some money I bought a $500 Takara with a tange frame. I built up a classic Peugeot for my wife as a birthday gift, but it went to a friend instead. The process was really cool and have since been in love with vintage bikes. I had the tange frame way into the eighties. I wish I had known more at the time because it had Ultegra parts on it, but as soon as I had a chromolly frame I gave up on the old tange frame. The Centurion DLX seemed to be so powerful. Eventually, I had to upgrade to another Centurion, a Dave Scott - Ironman autographed frame. Both Centurions broke due to my size, when I'm at my fighting weight I'm at two-hundred pounds. My wife kindly purchased me a Caloi road frame - it was beautiful, but in two years the welds gave out at the bottom bracket. It was an enlightening experience having a brand new bike, but I needed something more permanent. At about that time a friend joined my church and became part of the Hike and Bike at church that had a ten year old Litespeed Titanium frame with Mavic wheels. Again we were building up frames the Litespeed and a new Caloi frame imported from Brazil that I got as an upgrade on the waranty on the new Caloi frame I broke. My wife and I decided to make the Caloi frame a TT rig with the parts from the other Caloi plus some new time-trial stuff added on for good measure. The Litespeed frame got all the old centurion parts again with some upgrades. On one of the wheelmen rides, the one up around Lackey, I bottom out on the lowest gear and still couldn't make it up the 17% grade without zig-zagging my way up. Since then I have had a tripple on my Litespeed and although it's a Classic, I call it the Goat. I can climb anything now without having to stand-up. All these bikes give an appreciation for something new.

I would love to ride a Cervelo TT rig and a Litespeed carbon frame so I could be the lightest little feather going up the big hills around Comfort.

My favorite ride is the Old Number Nine out of Comfort towards Fredericksburgh. At first the easy rollers are a great warm-up to get one prepped for the massive hill that comes right before you get to  Fredericksburgh where you get to pass this old rail-road tunnel (where bats come out nightly) with spectacular views of the Hill Country. The beauty out in creation was utterly appealing and one of the reasons I wanted to get a bike out on the trails.

When I first got back into riding after college I got a Trek 900 Mountain Bike. The plan was to get into triathlon so I spent ten years mostly running with a little swimming and cycling thrown in to keep my skills not sharp, but existent. Since then it has been mostly road riding. I did finish a tri a few years ago. The swim was awful and the run was more of a walk.

Besides being a bike rider, marathoner, swimmer, mountain-climber, I'm also a professional singer, as well as an elder in my church.

End of Year Recap

When thinking about your accomplishments in fitness this season: What one word describes your 2012 fitness? I would say the word that best describes 2012 is: setbacks. As I get older, time limitations, and ganas play a part in these setbacks. I'm older and need to reassess how I train. Time limitations in relation to being older also impact training. Finally I don't have the ganas to train 24/7 - I don't want to wash my clothes that often! Ha!

Does it match what you said last December in anticipation of this year? Actually the last time I did this was in 2008, but I'm a very positive person - I'm sure I had big ideas of regaining lost training effect and rejoining the fast-guys in Chainreaction, and setting a PR in the 100 miler.

What one word comes to mind when you think about your 2012 season? I would say the word that best describes 2012 is challenging. Challenges in weigh loss, in training, and in health with heart issues.

Did you race any new distance this year or try any new type of racing or sport? I was boring; I did not try any new races or distances this year.

What was your greatest thrill or joy this year from training or racing? The greatest thrill and joy is still riding in a paceline at great speeds in training. I enjoy riding in groups. I can't leave this question without mentioning my PR at the 40K distance in training of 2:00 which I am still mystified as to how. I lolly-gagged for 3/4 of the distance and then burned rubber the last part and still set a PR. Go figure! It would seem that the new set-up on the Caloi Strada Pro TT Rig is what's doing the trick.

What was your biggest disappointment this year from training or racing? Not being able to ride with Chainreaction from being overweight and slow. Still am slow, but am working on the overweight bit by being 16.5 pounds less from 260! Ouch, it's difficult to see that number! Atkins is making a difference.

What was your favorite race in 2012? Pancakes in Paradise is still an awesome event and being there with Matt Little was epic. The Fiesta Wildflower is still such a large production and I guess I will keep attempting the long routes despite the DNF this year - although I still ended up with 92. The Tour de Gruene is still great fun despite all the trouble I had with the chain and flats.

How important was the social aspect of your sport in 2012? The social aspect is crucial to my enjoyment. Maintaining my weight through proper nutrition so that the training and speed can return is imperative or I will have to relegate myself to riding in a different manner.

If you had to name three people that made a difference in your training this year who would they be? The three people I would name are: Joe Montagna as I describe as a constant companion although of late we only ride together once in a while; Chris Groff for motivation I guess because I know I train to stay in shape for soccer with the kids and we always talk about training; and Jason Pronovost a new rider with CycleLogic with similar goals of achieving long-distances. I guess honorable mentions go out to Scott and Louie with Chainreaction - no matter what they're always supportive. I just wish I could keep up with them.

Season Goals for 2013:

Short-Term Goal: Concentrate on losing weight while building base miles. Thank you economy for the impetus.

Intermediate Goal: 200 Lbs - lean, massive, cycling machine! Top five on Thursday Night Bike Mojo Ride, Finish with the Chainreaction Racers, try establishing a Randonneurs group in South Texas.

Season: Race 100K beat 4:03 plan and complete a Brevet 200K distance event, and Support Cycle Logic Sponsors through referrals, participation and some racing (MTB Time-Trial) :-)

Training Objectives:

+Screw periodization ride when you can and lots in the Summer (Still got 4378 in 2012 so there)
+Hold/Concentrate on Long Ride (with weight loss speed will come)
+Less-structured speed play
+Maintain Nutrition with Atkins - lose it or lose the fun
+Explore on Rides combine Routes 

Fighting a Loosing Battle

4343 miles on the 29th and 355:36 hours and 36 minutes or rather about 14+ days It's like I rode to Billings Montana by way of Jacksonville Florida and Montreal Canada Ha! I'll probably add another 50-60 miles, but I'm thinking about it now.

As you know I've given up using my computers on my bikes because I was getting pretty obsessed with all the numbers. Part of the obsession is with the desire to regain lost training effect as I age. Sucks! I keep comparing myself to others who put in a tremendous amount of mileage. Everything I read talks about high intensity and low mileage yet people who are fast put in all kinds of miles. The work required to plan tempos, intervals, and hill work-outs with LT intervals with the proper ratio is work! I don't mind putting in the work, but if it takes away from the fun, then it is not good enough. So after a couple of years of trying desperately to regain lost training effect; I have given up on that in that manner!

Now at the same time I had given up on diets and found that subcutaneous fat gain was detrimental because my overall weight was affected.At the same time my heart doctor and gastric-entorologist said I needed to change my ways. So the decision above actually facilitates the solution in this realm because if I take up a diet such as Atkins or even Southbeach for that matter it allows me to give up carbs so that the diet is more effective. So far since Thanksgiving, I have lost 14 pounds. I did it for my doctors visit in December that never happened because my doctor had an "emergency." A week before Christmas, nah! Nevertheless, Atkins is working. Yes it's hard, yes it's no carbs from stuff I love like fries and bread.

The losing battle is frustrating because for two years I worked without anything to show for all the sacrifice. So I have decided to ride my bike and enjoy myself. I want to be fast, but I'm going to do it by losing weight then I'll work again to build speed with non-structured intervals so the fun remains. I'm looking forward to this experiment and hope for the best.

These are the numbers for 2012: 410.7-34:04
329-29:43
427.02-36:05
331.48-26:54
304-25:28
752.5-57:25
633-49:47
225-18=3413
426-35:21
253-21:26
251-21:23
=4343 TM355:36 14+ days It's like I rode to Billings Montana by way of Jacksonville, Florida and Montreal, Canada. Ha!

I didn't track Yoga, running, walking etc. I know walking will help me lose more, but I figured the Soccer addition once a week would help, but it really didn't make a huge difference.

So who in the heck do I ride with on long rides?! I can't hang with those with whom I used to be able to hang. I can't visualize riding by myself like the classic lonesome rider for the rest of my days. Perhaps concentrating on rides with Jason doing our own thing like we wish we could find from other groups in town.

Consistency

Consistency
Wednesday, August 10, 2011, 1:06 PM [General]

Second week in a row that I've managed my tempo ride (40K TT Distance-26 Miles) with consistency finishing the distance 13 minutes better than my best time three years ago.

I've been working a lot with my gearing so that I'm makin' circles or spinning. I picked a gear that keeps my rpm (revolutions per minute) up, but it is not too hard or too easy. My best time from three years ago was achieved mashing the biggest I could handle for the given distance.

I've been reading a lot about maintaining a consistent tempo. Starting easy enough so that at the end you have something left, plus if you really want to race it in you have that option. Both these past two weeks I've bumped it up at the end, in essence, racing it in. I've been listening to the Everyday Cyclist with Graeme Street and getting some tips as well as reading my Active.com posts that come across facebook.

I've gotten these results on my road bike and I wonder how improved I would be on the TT bike. (Unfortunately I flatted recently and was going too fast to recover - haven't had the guts to take it in to the LBS Local Bike Shop in my case Cycle Logic Bike Shop for fear of the cost of a new carbon fork).

It has been exciting to work on this over the 1400 miles that I put in this Summer. It puts me at 3400 for the year and should be able to reach my goals by the end of the season. I just don't know if I will be able to try out the new strategy and technique with my current training on my time trial bike.